Armand François Léon de Wailly (28 July 1804 – 25 April 1864) was a 19th-century French
novelist,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
,
adaptor
An adapter or adaptor is a device that converts attributes of one electrical device or system to those of an otherwise incompatible device or system. Some modify power or signal attributes, while others merely adapt the physical form of one con ...
and
translator.
Biography
Born into a family of writers and academics, graduated from the
École des chartes
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Sav ...
, Léon de Wailly became a close friend of
Alfred de Vigny and worked as private secretary for .
[''Correspondance d'Alfred de Vigny: août 1830-septembre 1835'', 1989, PUF, (p. 555)] He became known for his numerous translations of English writers (poetry) and his collaboration with
P. J. Stahl in the adaptation of British classics (including
William Shakespeare).
Gustave de Wailly
Gustave de Wailly, full name Gabriel Gustave de Wailly, (13 June 1804 – 27 April 1878 ) was a 19th-century French playwright and Latinist. Léon de Wailly was his brother.
Biography
Brought up in a family of writers and academics, master of r ...
was his brother.
Works
*1825: ''Le Mort dans l’embarras'', comédie nouvelle, in 3 acts and in verse, with
Gustave de Wailly
Gustave de Wailly, full name Gabriel Gustave de Wailly, (13 June 1804 – 27 April 1878 ) was a 19th-century French playwright and Latinist. Léon de Wailly was his brother.
Biography
Brought up in a family of writers and academics, master of r ...
*1834: ''
Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...
'', opera in 2 acts, libretto with
Henri Auguste Barbier and Alfred de Vigny, music by
Hector Berlioz
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
*1838: ''Angelica Kauffmann''
*1844: ''L’Héritage de vie''
*1848: ''Pensées morales et maximes''
*1854: ''Stella et Vanessa''
*1855: ''L'oncle Tom'', drama in 5 acts and 9
tableaux
*1860: ''Les Deux filles de M. Dubreuil''
*1862: ''Le Doyen de Saint-Patrick'' (drama in 5 acts, in prose with
Louis Ulbach)
Translations
He translated works from
Matthew Gregory Lewis (''
The Monk''),
Jonathan Swift,
Shakespeare,
Henry Fielding (''
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling''),
Robert Burns (''Poésies complètes''),
Laurence Sterne (''
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'') and also
Fanny Burney (''
Evelina'').
Adaptations
* ''Mary Bell, William et Lafaine. La vie des enfants en Amérique'', Adapted from English by
P.-J. Stahl and de Wailly, Hetzel, 1895
* ''Les Vacances de Riquet et de Madeleine'', Adapted from English by P.-J. Stahl and de Wailly, Hetzel, 1908-1909
References
Notes
Sources
* Balduc, Florian, ed. (2016). ''Fantaisies Hoffmaniennes''. Editions Otrante.
* Polet, Jean-Claude, ed. (2000). ''Patrimoine littéraire européen: Index général'' (p. 591). De Boeck.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wailly, Leon de
19th-century French writers
French opera librettists
English–French translators
1804 births
Writers from Paris
1864 deaths
19th-century French translators